PI SCOOP … ROMNEY RETURNS: GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is headed back to Washington on May 2, where he’ll appear at the Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City for a roundtable meeting and evening fundraiser, according to a copy of the invite obtained by PI. Romney's tax reform policy, technology, innovation and entrepreneurs, and trade and global competitiveness roundtables will meet.

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EXCLUSIVE ... BRAZILIAN GOLD: In a letter obtained exclusively by PI, the Discover America Partnership — a coalition led by the U.S. Travel Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Hotel & Lodging Association, National Restaurant Association and the National Retail Federation — sent President Obama a letter in advance of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s visit to Washington, D.C., next week urging the administration to raise the Visa Waiver Program as part of the discussion. "Roadmap's discussions with Brazil would send a powerful message to allies and neighbors through our own hemisphere about the critical importance of the VWP program to our collective security, common heritage and economic health," Roger Dow, head of the travel association and chairman of the partnership, writes. Advocates for the measure believe that Brazil's potential inclusion in the VWP would strengthen national security, stimulate the U.S. economy and advance U.S.-Brazilian cooperation.

PI SCOOPLET … EX-REP. CHRIS LEE DIVESTS OF REMAINING CAMPAIGN CASH: The political demise of former Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) — he of the career-ending Craigslist hook-up post depicting him taut and half-naked in a photograph ( http://politi.co/HkCiVw) — is the Food Bank of Western New York’s gain. Lee’s campaign committee informed the FEC that it will donate what’s left in its account — $14,041 — to the charity upon the FEC formally approving its request for termination, which it filed March 30. Lee resigned in February 2011 just hours after Gawker published Lee’s come-on in which, despite being a married father, he sought a female companion. In the post, Lee described himself as a divorced, 39-year-old lobbyist.

EKSTEIN TO SAGAC PA:Dan Ekstein is leaving JP Morgan Chase & Co.’s Washington office to become a partner at Sagac Public Affairs. Ekstein has been a vice president and director of JP Morgan’s PAC since 2006. Before that, he was the director of political affairs at Washington Group International and manager of political affairs at Capital One Financial.

A VERY HAPPY THURSDAY! Where Anna is celebrating becoming an aunt for the first time — a very hearty PI congratulations to Leah Palmer and Leo Spooner on the birth of their daughter Adeline Joyce Spooner.

Whether you are basking in the glow of a newborn, or hitting the links on what’s a slow week in Washington with Congress out of session, don’t forget to send us a hot news tip, link or suggestion. We’re at apalmer@politico.com and dlevinthal@politico.com. Please take a moment to follow us on Twitter, too, where we’re at @davelevinthal and @apalmerdc.

Now, back to today's top K Street news.

WERTHEIMER BASHES SUPER PACS: Democracy 21's Fred Wertheimer told MSNBC's Luke Russert that Congress should define what "independence" for super PACs means and eliminate candidate-specific super PACs. The long-time campaign finance reformer deemed super PACs a "vehicle for corruption" and said that the current candidate-specific super PACs aren't truly independent and are actually an arm of the campaign.

BIG MONEY IN BIG EASY FOR MARY LANDRIEU: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) wants you to join her early next month in New Orleans for Jazz Fest 2012 — for a contribution of $5,000 per couple. For individuals, the initial $5,000 contribution will benefit Landrieu’s reelection campaign committee — $2,500 for a primary, $2,500 for the general election, according to the invitation. Any additional money, up to another $5,000, will go to Landrieu’s leadership political action committee, JAZZ PAC. Payment must be received by April 16. Those who take her up on the fundraising offer have the option to stay in the Loews New Orleans Hotel or find their own accommodations. See the invitation and registration form here: http://bit.ly/HRJLxn and here: http://bit.ly/HgoNsp.

NRF GETS POLITICAL: It's not just presidential primary vote counts that are grabbing national attention this week. Nearly 100,000 votes have been cast in the National Retail Federation's "This is Retail" video contest, which is trying to find the best retail story in America. A source close to NRF tells PI that the competition has gotten so popular the trade association had to "double its server capacity to keep the site from crashing."

The hottest “This is Retail” match-up puts the 17th Congressional District of Illinois up against the 2nd Congressional District of Massachusetts: Market Alley Wines of Monmouth, Ill. (represented by Rep. BobbySchilling) and WEBS Yarn Store of Northampton, Mass. (represented by Rep. Richard Neal) are going head-to-head with almost 20,000 votes cast in their match-up alone. Click here to check it out: http://bit.ly/Hgom1g

The contests’ top three finishers will visit D.C. in May for NRF's annual fly-in and lobby day.

CUNA ADDS MORE FIREPOWER: The Credit Union National Association is beefing up its lobbying muscle with the addition of SC Partners LLC as part of its ongoing effort to raise the cap on the amount of commercial lending that credit unions can engage in. SC Partners’s Charles Shipp and Catherine Cullen are both registered to work on the issue for CUNA. In March, the credit union association also hired the Crossroads Strategies team of John Green, Stewart Hall, Hunter Moorhead and Matt Wise to lobby on the same issue. CUNA spent $5.8 million on lobbying in 2011. The effort to raise commercial lending caps for credit unions faces fierce opposition from private and community banks.

DIRECT IMPACT MAKES BIG BUY: Grass-roots communications firm Direct Impact has acquired Crowdverb, a Seattle-based digital mobilization firm. Though Crowdverb is based in Seattle, its D.C. presence is growing. Two of the three original founders, Cyrus Krohn and Todd Herman, have strong Washington ties as former digital directors for the Republican National Committee. Sally Poliak, who also founded the firm, is a long-time Washington state communications consultant. The acquisition is expected to bolster Direct Impact’s use of proprietary technology in its advocacy campaigns.

ICBA PROMOTES SCHNEIDER: The Independent Community Bankers of America has promoted Joe Schneider to vice president of state relations. Schneider has been with ICBA since 2009 and previously served as director of state relations. Schneider will continue to be the primary liaison between ICBA and state and regional associations, but will take on additional strategic leadership responsibilities.

NELSON, MULLINS GETS EXPLOSIVE: Nelson, Mullins Riley & Scarborough has brought on the Institute of Makers of Explosives as a client. Former Rep. Ron Klink (D-Pa.) and Mick Nardelli registered to represent the group of U.S. explosive manufacturers on surface transportation in reauthorization legislation, according to a recent lobbying filing.

ENGLER READY TO 'TALK TURKEY': Check out Anna's profile of former Michigan Gov. John Engler-turned- Business Roundtable CEO and how he's looking to take a more aggressive stance: http://politi.co/HVctdr

SKDKNICKERBOCKER CELEBRATES DELANEY WIN: Democratic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker is taking a victory lap after political newcomer John Delaney upset Maryland State Senate Majority Leader Robert Garagiola in the 6th District primary on Tuesday night. The firm is claiming a piece of Delaney’s win after producing all paid TV, radio and direct mail ads for the campaign. “John Delaney may be a newcomer to politics, but he will bring fresh ideas to get our economy moving,” said J.B. Poersch, a managing director at SKDKnickerbocker. “The issue was jobs and John Delaney has what it takes to create them.”

LAWMAKER V. LAWMAKER BATTLES DRAW $$: Robin Bravender has the scoop on how member on member primary battles are drawing big fundraising numbers. Click here for more: http://politi.co/Hbfzua

JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE FORMS FOR REED, BLACK: Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) have formed a joint fundraising committee, which also includes Black’s leadership political action committee, known as the Defending and Investing in America’s New Endeavors PAC. Joint fundraising committees may raise cash to benefit any of its members and distribute the money at its discretion, so long as contributions stay within federal limits. Lisa Lisker will serve as treasurer for the joint fundraising committee, which is called the Reed Black Victory Fund.

DAILY FUNNY:Stephen Colbert wins a Peabody Award for his satire involving super PACs. No, that’s not a joke. In announcing it on his show, Colbert gives a special shout-out to former FEC Chairman Trevor Potter, the Supreme Court and a ham that vaguely resembles Karl Rove. Watch here: http://bit.ly/HRFx8Y

About The Author

Anna Palmer is a senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.

Anna covers the world of Congress and politics, and has successfully chronicled the business of Washington insiders for years. Her stories take readers behind the scenes for the biggest fights in Washington as well as the 2016 election.

Prior to becoming POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent, Anna was the co-author of the daily newsletter, POLITICO Influence, considered a must-read on K Street.

Anna previously covered House leadership and lobbying as a staff writer for Roll Call. She got her start in Washington journalism as a lobbying business reporter for the industry newsletter Influence. She has also worked at Legal Times, where she covered the intersection of money and politics for the legal and lobbying industry, first as a staff writer and then as an editor.

A native of North Dakota, Anna is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where she was executive editor of the weekly campus newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. She lives in Washington, D.C.

About The Author

Dave Levinthal reports on political influence issues for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, Dave worked for two years as editor of OpenSecrets.org at the Center for Responsive Politics, where he oversaw the Center's original journalism and provided analysis to hundreds of television, radio and print news outlets.

Between 2003 and 2009, Dave reported on Dallas City Hall for The Dallas Morning News, and from 2000 to 2002, covered the New Hampshire Statehouse for the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political philosophy and edited The Daily Orange.

Some may argue, but there is no more dedicated Bills fan than this Buffalo, N.Y., native.